Teen Dresses Up as Thief for “Culture Day” to Call Out Cultural Appropriation

One Maryland teen really went there with his outfit for his school's "Culture Day," in an effort to call out cultural appropriation.

Seventeen-year-old Josh Welch told Buzzfeed News that he wanted to come up with a way to poke fun at white culture for the "Culture Day" — "being a huge advocate for social justice, I was excited to come to school and participate in some grass roots activism,” Josh said — when the idea struck him: While others donned garb from around the world, Josh wore an all black outfit and said that he was dressed as a thief.

"I got the idea browsing the internet looking for a comedic outfit for a costume, and the idea just hit me," Josh told Mashable.

Apparently, Josh's costume got quite the reaction at school — after he explained to people the reason behind the look, of course. “When they understood it, everyone freaked out,” he told Buzzfeed. “Some people laughed their asses off and others were shocked.” Josh also said that one teacher urged Josh not to make political statements with his costume.

But if you think that's polarizing, just wait until you see how Twitter reacted. Josh's tweet with an explanation and photo of the outfit has been retweeted more than 25,000 times and liked more than 43,000 times.